Die Macht » a former NBA All-Star guard, got the Sacramento C

With the Impact in their worst run of form since they closed out their debut season on the back of a six-game face-planting skid, the last thing Joey Saputo needed to wake up to Monday morning was the rather ludicrous report traced to a Columbian radio station that Marco Schallibaum was about to get his walking papers. As erroneous as that report was, Saputo is likely aware of the increasingly uneasy feeling that currently prevails around the club. Saputos retort was rather candid: “Are you kidding? Très content avec Schallibaum, aucune raison daller chercher un autre entraîneur. Very happy with Marco,” the Impact President tweeted. Saputo was scheduled to deliver his mid-term report and make a few announcements specific to the 2014 season on Monday. However, in light of the 4-0 drubbing the team took in Harrison, NJ last Saturday night that media event was pushed back 48 hours. Doing so let the high emotions surrounding the team to dissipate some. It allowed the realization that the team has gone from being the best in the MLS to enduring a month-long winless drought not to take centre stage. When Saputo did address the media Wednesday, the current form book was put into the context of the season to date. Sitting three points adrift of the top of the East but with two games in hand, the Impact could quite easily return to the Conference summit. Each and every Eastern Conference team would likely have offered up all their allocation money to be in the Impacts current situation if it had been proffered prior to start of the season. Saputo also admitted that a significant number of the current squad would be in Impact uniform come 2014. Without exception the most significant discussion Wednesday afternoon centred around the concept of turning the supporters into club members. The lifeblood of any sports team is its fans, especially those season ticket holders. Manchester United love to claim over 600 million followers globally. However, you can string up as many green and yellow banners and bunting as you like around your Singapore or Sydney home as you watch the Old Trafford from thousands of miles away, but its that solitary hooped scarf behind the dugout made most famous by Sir Alex Ferguson that holds sway and gets all the attention. The Barcelonas and Real Madrids of the world were borne out of the club member concept. But it was one closer to home that piqued the Impacts curiosity. “Its more like what Seattle is doing,” Impact and Stade Saputo Executive Vice President Richard Legendre disclosed to TSN.ca Thursday. “The policy where they ask their season ticket holders to vote on the GM that was one example we were looking at.” “The way it originated for us is the fact we wanted to go one step further in the interaction of our season ticket holders,” Legendre added. While the Saputos are the Impacts undisputed nuclear family, the extended family is made up of all its stakeholders. Like most families, continued growth is the objective. “First of all we want to increase the numbers in the family,” Legendre stated. “We realised how important it is for our season ticket holders to be transparent with them, to communicate with them”. “After our first season we created a new team of service reps on behalf of our season ticket holders. Their job is to be in contact constantly with the season ticket holders.” “So, then we thought: ‘Where can we go from there? How can we go further? Thats where we thought of more involvement in the decision making. To give them what we call ‘the power of recommendation.” “Its also a way to choose whom we are going to listen to more,” Legendre succinctly added. With lines of communication continually live these days and most traditional barriers removed, separating the wheat from the chaff is a difficult ask in soliciting opinions from any fan-base. The less-is-more principle can get completely drowned out at times; a point that is not lost on Legendre. “These days with all the social networks [and] all the other methods there is so much noise. So many people that you can easily lose focus on who you really need to listen to and interact with,” he said. “So by having more interactions with just our season ticket holders its another way of saying: ‘The ones we are going to listen to first are those that are right behind us in a bigger manner.” Although the Impact were entirely inconsistent on the pitch last season and are currently in the midst of a similar slide, the constant in the clubs two MLS seasons has been their season ticket base. That base has numbered 8,000 in both their debut season and 2013. Wednesday the club announced their plan is to increase the base by 25 per cent to 10,000 for 2014. The desired effect is that on any given match day, half of the stadiums capacity will be comprised of club members. Hows that for an influential voice? In a season where the Impact have performed well above where any rational person would have predicted and have played an exciting brand of football, stagnating season ticket numbers from year-to-year would have to ring the alarm bells with the front office. Legendre is aware that a lot of hard work lays ahead for the franchise. Its not as if there is one solitary explanation of why the Impact currently lags many MLS clubs in the season ticket stakes. “I think it is difficult to identify only one,” Legendre said. “If I had to identify only one, I would say its still a very young [MLS] product which might sound a little surprising as we are celebrating our 20th anniversary. But in a way I really get a strong feeling and we hear it that a lot from different people that we are just starting something.” “It is our second year only in MLS,” Legendre continued. “When we compare ourselves to the other two major professional teams in Montreal - the Alouettes and the Canadiens - the Alouettes [have] 62 years in the major leagues and for the Canadiens its over a hundred years.” “Were very young, and were even younger in the big leagues. So I think in terms of the notoriety of the league, there is actually a lot of work that has to be done.” Legendre went on to divulge certain contents of a supporter-based survey the club recently commissioned. “When we asked people in Montreal: ‘Do you know the Impact? 95 per cent [of respondents] said yes. Then, when we asked them the names of the players, 88 per cent [could name none]… When we asked them: ‘Do you know MLS? 91 per cent said ‘No.” “So it seems like there is a bit of a contradiction there, but it clearly shows we still have a lot of work to make our product known, to give the opportunity for people to taste the product.” The numbers are remarkable but whichever way you cut it there is substantial room for growth. Another factor is a dearth of support from local area businesses. “We need more businesses to get involved in buying season tickets,” Legendre stated. “In our own survey when people are buying season tickets they say they are buying it for personal reasons much, much more than for professional reasons. So I think [with] the quality of the product we have, the pricing, we can develop much more to different businesses.” The club set out the season with the objective of making the playoffs, and with 16 regular-season games remaining, that playoff place is theirs for the taking. They will have no one to blame but themselves if they are not playing soccer in November down Stade Saputo way. Turning the season around could well start Saturday in what could be billed as the “battle of the slumps”. A month or so ago FC Dallas rode resplendently atop the west. However, they now take a seven-game winless skid into Saputo Stadium. Coincidentally both FC Dallas and the Impact last recorded a win against the same opponent, the Houston Dynamo. On June 19, the Impact were mighty impressive in recording the 2-0 shutout victory. In attendance that night - and enjoying himself immensely as he took in all the Stade Saputo sights and sounds - was none other than Canadiens President and CEO Geoff Molson. Wonder if hes signed up yet as a member of club Montreal Impact FC? You can reach and follow Noel Butler at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel Montreal Impact v FC Dallas - Live on TSN Radio 690 Saturday at 6:45pm et/3:45pm pt Cheap Oilers Jerseys . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Edmonton Oilers Gear . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. https://www.cheapoilers.com/ . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Oilers Jerseys 2021 . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Wholesale Oilers Jerseys . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season.A new owner is in place. A new coach is on the way. And for the first time in 14 years, Sacramento Kings fans can celebrate a new era. The Maloof family completed the sale of the Kings and Sleep Train Arena to a group led by TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive on Friday, officially transferring ownership of the NBA franchise. Ranadives group acquired a 65 per cent controlling interest in the team at a total franchise valuation of more than $534 million, topping the NBA record of $450 million that Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the Golden State Warriors for in 2010. "We are pleased for both the Maloof family and the Ranadive group, but particularly pleased for the fans of the Kings," NBA Commissioner David Stern said. Brothers George, Joe and Gavin Maloof also released statements thanking NBA owners, Stern and the familys limited partners with the Kings. George Maloof specifically praised Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and the City Council "for their efforts and loyalty to the Sacramento community." Ranadive already has been busy making moves to rebuild the fallen franchise. The Kings have an agreement in place with Warriors assistant Mike Malone to become their head coach, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to speak publicly, said Malone was Ranadives top choice. Malones hiring officially ends Keith Smarts tenure. Smart took over the Kings for the fired Paul Westphal in January 2012 and had one year remaining on his contract. Ranadive, formerly a minority owner or the Warriors, still has to hire a general manager -- a move that typically comes before finding a coach; the contract for president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie ends June 30. In a statement released through the Kings, Ranadive thanked all involved. "Mayor Kevin Johnson and the leadership group of Sacramento should be commended for their relentless efforts, hard work and tireless drive to keep the Kings in the city where they belong," Ranadive said. "We also extend our thanks to the Maloof Family for their support and co-operation throughout the sale process. Because of their efforts, this team has risen to an impressive legacy, which includes the most passionate fanbase in the NBA. "Again, thank you to Sacramento Kings fans for their unwavering commitment and loyalty to myself and this organization. Without them, this success would not have become a reality. At the end of the day, this team belongs to the people of Sacramento, and our mission is to support them. We are excited to begin the process of building a 21st century franchise that will be a source of pride and excittement for years to come.dddddddddddd" The sales completion capped a comeback few outside Californias capital city believed would happen. After owners blocked the Maloofs agreement with investor Chris Hansen to buy and relocate the Kings to Seattle earlier in May at a total franchise valuation of $625 million, the family pushed ahead with the "backup offer" to sell the team to Ranadives group. The Sacramento group also includes 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, former Facebook senior executive Chris Kelly and the Jacobs family that owns communications giant Qualcomm. "We congratulate Vivek Ranadive and the entire Sacramento investor group for their willingness to come forward and purchase the franchise for the people of Sacramento. We are confident they will provide the stewardship necessary to continue to guide the organization to successful levels," George Maloof said. The transfer of the team ended the Maloof familys topsy-turvy reign as majority owners of the team. The Kings reached the playoffs for the first seven years under the Maloofs and missed each of the last seven. Sacramento won back-to-back Pacific Division titles in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, advancing to the 2002 Western Conference finals, when it lost in heartbreaking fashion to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. After that, the franchise started its slow and painful decline. The Maloofs, once the toast of Californias capital city, fell out of favour with fans. The suburban arena aged rapidly. Ticket sales declined. And the family explored moving the franchise to Las Vegas, Anaheim and Virginia Beach over several years until announcing an agreement with Hansens group in January. Led by Johnson, Sacramento fought back and made it too difficult for NBA owners to allow the Kings to move to Seattle. The mayor, a former NBA All-Star guard, got the Sacramento City Council to approve a non-binding financing plan for a $447 million downtown arena with a $258 million public subsidy. The Maloofs still had to agree to sell the franchise to Ranadives group. And in the end, they did -- after raising the value of the franchise to a record price. "The success of the Sacramento Kings has been due largely in part to the dedication and enthusiasm of our team members, coaches, players, and fans," Joe Maloof said. "Since our family has owned the franchise, the people of Sacramento have warmly brought the Kings into their hearts and for that we will always be grateful. As we look forward to an exciting new chapter in our family business enterprise, we will never forget the people of Sacramento and everything they have done for the Kings organization." ' ' '